By having a strong payroll policy, you’re positioned to meet payroll deadlines, comply with federal and state payroll laws, and protect the business against lawsuits. Ultimately, your policy should be concise while giving employees a solid understanding of your payroll procedures.

Below are some best practices that should be included in your policy:

1. Workweek Records –Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must keep records that show when the workweek begins for nonexempt employees. In your payroll policy, say what time and day your workweek starts and ends, such as 12:01 a.m. Sunday through midnight Saturday.
2. Timekeeping– Employees must be paid accurately and on time. Therefore, you’ll need to be clear about procedures surrounding the use of time clocks or time sheets. Explain that submitted hours are subject to approval by the respective supervisor. Also, list the penalties for falsifying time records.
3. Breaks – Do you provide short breaks and lunch periods? If so, for how long? Under what circumstances are breaks and lunches paid or unpaid? Do employees need to clock in and out for breaks and lunches? Address all of these questions in your payroll policy, and make sure your responses adhere to federal and state requirements.
4. Overtime– Let employees know whether overtime is permitted at your workplace, how many hours constitute overtime under federal or state law and how overtime is calculated. Describe the approval process for working overtime. State the consequences of unauthorized overtime. Make everything clear cut.
5. Overcommunicate– How often do you pay employees? When does the pay period for each payroll start and end? Do you have salaried and hourly employees? If so, do you have separate paydays for each group? Do you offer direct deposit? If so, is it mandatory or voluntary? Your responses must not conflict with applicable federal and state laws.
6. Tax Deductions – State the different types of payroll taxes that are typically withheld from your employees’ wages. Say what forms employees need to complete for federal and state income tax withholding, such as Form W-4 and the state’s withholding form. Explain how wage garnishment is handled. You might say that, along with informing the employee of the garnishment, you will obey the garnishment order as required by law. State whether voluntary benefits are deducted on a pretax or after-tax basis.

7. Final Compensation Checks – When will terminated employees receive their final paycheck? And will it encompass all wages due at the time of separation? Will unused vacation or PTO be included in the final check? When employees resign, do they need to give advance notice in order to receive payout of their unused vacation or PTO? Which deductions are taken out of the final paycheck? To ensure your answers are correct, examine federal and state laws on final wages.

Your payroll policy may also cover holiday pay, salary adjustments, pay increases, salary advances, overpayments, W-2 distribution and expense reimbursement.

Tired of payroll taking up all your time? We realize that this is one area that has to have perfect acuity. But payday doesn’t have to be something to worry about.We create high-touch, concierge payroll services, provide concise reporting, online access and seamless integration (into accounting and human resource technology). If you want to streamline the process, contact CorpStrat and we’ll take care of you and your employees.

Open enrollment can be an overwhelming time for both employers and employees. Employees are given the opportunity to re-evaluate their current benefits and make changes for the coming year, while employers must choose a benefits package that balances cost and value and facilitate the enrollment process. Due to a variety of factors, benefit offerings are changing, placing new demands on employees and employers during open enrollment. To make the enrollment process as smooth as possible, it is important that employers educate and communicate with their employees effectively.

Here is a brief checklist that will help you make Open Enrollment a success:

• Make a list of anything new and exciting that will enhance your open enrollment processes.
• Plan to communicate these enhancements to employees.
• Make necessary changes to your benefits offerings before the open enrollment period to avoid rushing at the last minute.

• Consider offering new benefits, even if they are 100 percent voluntary.

• Hold meetings with employees to review coverage options and changes. Offer information regarding benefits in various formats to your employees such as one-on-one meetings, benefit fairs, mailers or intranet tools.
• Provide easy-to-understand tools. This will lessen employee confusion and the feeling of being overwhelmed while trying to make tough decisions.
• Make plan information as simple as possible, while also being interactive. Employees should be able to understand their offerings to make more knowledgeable decisions.
• Maintain all Summary Plan Descriptions on your website, rather than directing employees to the insurance carrier site for information. This provides easy access to information and makes the company appear more in control of the information.

Overall, a successful and effective open enrollment process can have a dramatic impact on the relationship between employers and their employees. By catering to their needs and wants, employers will ultimately make the experience more enjoyable and worthwhile for their workers. As a result, they will feel more secure in their benefits decisions throughout the plan year.

Need help developing a strategic benefits package that works for your budget and offers attractive options for your employees? We’re here to help, contact us at 818.377.7260 or send an email today.

Most businesses are looking for ways to control costs, yet stay competitive. Attracting, rewarding, and retaining good talent is harder than ever before as employers look for creative ways to build a comprehensive benefits package.

Fortunately, having a skilled broker can help ease their minds with solutions that can be quickly implemented without significant costs or increased administrative burdens.

3 considerations that can help you enhance your current benefit packages:

1. Health Insurance – Choice is important to most people, and most insurance carriers will allow you to offer more than one plan. If you currently offer a traditional plan, you probably have one HMO and one PPO option to choose from.  Consider adding a richer ‘buy-up’ plan and/or a lower cost plan.  By giving your employees choice, they feel empowered and comfortable knowing that they can choose a plan to fit their personal financial and health needs.
2. Flexible Spending Account – Offering a Full Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is a low cost, powerful tool that employees appreciate. It allows them to defer their own money on a pre-tax basis to pay for medical, dental, vision, dependent day care, parking and public transportation expenses. Such plans are administered through a TPA and are simple and affordable to implement. There is usually a tax benefit to the company as well
3. Voluntary Benefits – I’m sure you’ve heard of AFLAC, but they are just one of the many insurance carriers that offers individually purchased products, at discounted, group rates. There are many voluntary platforms available that include a variety of products such as disability, life, accident, cancer, critical illness, and long-term care protection.

Studies show that employees have increased job satisfaction when they view their employee benefits package favorably because of having plan choices, including voluntary options and other tax-free benefits.

Crafting desirable and affordable benefit packages can set yourself apart from businesses who only offer locked-in benefit plans. With these considerations in mind, businesses typically attract and retain talent in the marketplace by putting their employees first with great, affordable plans.

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